The Latest Horror Movie News Served Fresh Daily Since 2005

Halloween Horror Movie Marathon Suggestions

It’s Halloween which means its our favorite time of the year where we have all kinds of bonus reasons to do nothing but watch copious amounts of horror movies. Sitting down and building a list of excellent Halloween horror movies is no simple task. Just limiting the list to under 50 films is a challenge within itself.

My interests tend to lean more towards the older horror films so I have chosen a few classics as well as some new gems. Some of my films might surprise you but that’s what makes it my list and not yours! Here is my list of favorite horror movies to watch as part of my Halloween Horror Movies Marathon. This list will be updated all month long as we get more feedback from our readers and build the ultimate Halloween Horror Movie Marathon Guide!

Nightmare on Elm Street

Robert Englund is an icon in the horror genre for his portrayal of the sadistic and terrifying killer that stalks his victims in their dreams. Nightmare on Elm Street is one of the greatest horror movies ever made and what better time to enjoy it then at Halloween.

Do not confuse the 1984 classic with the 2010 remake starring Jackie Earle Haley because the remake is a complete debacle not worth buying, renting or using as a coffee coaster.

SPLINTER

Toby Wilkin’s Splinter is a truly fantastic movie monster experience and is one of the best demonstration of practical effects in a modern horror movie. I actually mistook some scenes as being CGI when I praised the effects and Toby politely corrected me that it was done with practical magic. Toby Wilkins much like Steven C Miller is an under-rated director in the horror genre who deserves more opportunities.

SPLINTER for me is one of the 10 Best indie monster movies ever made and is the best isolation horror film since John Carpenter’s The Thing. In Splinter two low life criminals and a couple of young love birds find themselves trapped in a gas station by a terrifying ecological nightmare. Splinter is nothing short of remarkable!

The Thing

This movie was recommended to me by my friend Rene 15 years ago and its one of the best movie recommendations anyone has ever made to me. The Thing combines the cold arctic winter, extreme isolation and a terrifying shape shifting monster making it a truly spectacular film. Its worth noting I am referring to John Carpenters remake which stars Kurt Russell not the 2011 remake.

In The Thing a remote station isolated from society is crippled by mechanical failure and the crew and staff soon discover there is more to fear than the cold outside! Easily one of the best Sci-Fi horror films ever made!

Jeepers Creepers

I know a lot of people hate this movie but for me Jeepers Creepers is one of the truly great modern monster movies.

You can’t outrun it, you can’t kill it and nobody can save you from this terrifying nocturnal monster which comes out of its sleep to feast on human flesh. Jeepers Creepers is an awesome movie with a great level of carnage and an ending that will leave you with the heeby jeeby’s.

Easter Egg bonus: The movie takes its name from the 1938 song with the same name ‘Jeepers Creepers’ which is featured in the film. It had a solid sequel in 2003 and it has been long speculated that Victor Salva the director has been working on Jeepers Creeper’s 3 but we have yet to see its release.

The Shining

The Shining starring Jack Nicholson is without a doubt a classic that everyone should watch in a dark room with the volume turned up far to loud. As children, even adult children we turn to our parents for patience, protection and assurance.

The Shining takes all of that and turns it on its face as dear old Daddy’s sanity pushes him to the bring and he decides to make hatchet work out of his young son and wife. A great film, very edgy, very disturbing and creepy! Easily one of the best adaptations of a Stephen King work to date. I am frankly surprised that it’s not up for a remake considering IT, Pet Semetary and The Stand are all set for remakes in the coming years.

The Exorcist

Paranormal Activity is currently being billed as the scariest movie ever made but let’s be honest it has nothing on The Exorcist. The Exorcist is a movie that shocked a generation of movie goers and continues to scare the hell out of new generations of movie fans who are introduced to it by older siblings, parents and dare I say it grand parents.

The Exorcist is a classic tale of the church vs the devil. The Exorcist is a terrifying film and one that will leave you wishing you were watching Paranormal Activity instead.

Creepshow

George Romero is best known for his anthology of zombie films but do not overlook his work in Creepshow which is one of the greatest horror anthologies of all time. George Romero teamed up with Stephen King on this anthology which is based on the EC comics of the 1950’s

Creepshow went on to inspire two sequels which although not nearly as good as the original are still solid movies worth checking out.

Poltergeist

As scary as The Exorcist is Poltergeist is as equally terrifying. The only thing worse than one demon… is a bunch of them and Poltergeist pulls no punches as it unleashes the undead on an unsuspecting family.

The only thing scarier the movie itself is the legend of the curse around the cast and crew deaths that are tied to the film. Although many cast of the Poltergeist have thriving careers now, many have also died. Heather O’Rourke, Will Sampson, Julian Beck, and Dominique Dunne have all died since filming the movie leading to the online rumors of a Poltergeist curse!

Amityville Horror

We have seen horror movies where parents turn on siblings, kids turn on parents and the Amityville Horror amps it up even further when the house turns on its occupant’s. When I saw this film as a child it left me horrified and wanting to camp out in the backyard for months.

Amityville Horror is the tale of a demonic house which is ‘based on a true story’. Amityville Horror is easily one of the creepiest tales of possession and one of the few films that will leave you terrified of your household appliances.

Night of the Living Dead

You can not go wrong any time of the year with George A Romero’s Night of the Living Dead and no Halloween Movie Marathon is complete without it. Whether you watch the original George Romero directed version or the remake that Romero produced and Tom Savini directed either make

Night of the Living Dead is one of if not THE best zombie film ever made. A tale of isolation and flesh-eating terror its a commentary on society at the time as well as the weakness of mankind. Night of the Living Dead packs a deep message, lots of scares and some serious undead terror.

Children of the Corn

I was very young when I saw Children of the Corn and to say it left me scared stiff is an understatement. When you go to school and a kid bullies you.. you go to your parents but what happens when the Children kill all the adults and are under the trance of an evil force?

Children of the Corn is the first film that featured scores of children as the villains and to this day the concept is still incredibly terrifying. Children of the Corn spawned a mediocre SyFy remake so be careful and make sure you watch the original 1984 film.

John Carpenters Halloween

Before we even started this list you know that John Carpenter’s Halloween would land on the list. Nobody in their right mind would make a list of Halloween Horror Movie’s to watch and exclude one of the 10 greatest horror movie classics of all time.

Many of the younger generation have seen the Rob Zombie remake but not the original John Carpenter classic and I urge you to experience the original if you have not.

Trick R Treat

Trick R Treat is a truly fantastic film and is easily one of the 10 best films of the last decade. The fact that this movie was a direct to DVD horror release is just a sad testament to the state of modern horror and the lack of support the filmmakers had from their studio.

Modern movies like Paranormal Activity and Insidious get all the glory as being great modern horror movies but neither hold a candle to Michael Dougherty’s Trick R Treat.

This Halloween anthology is both entertaining and chilling and will go down with the likes of CreepShow as one of the greatest horror anthologies of all time.

Aggression Scale

Steven C Miller’s The Aggression scale is Home Alone meets Halloween and is candidly one of the best home invasion films of the last 10 years. If you loved The Strangers and appreciate indie horror which focuses on the complex characters and less on white teeth and big tits then you will love The Aggression Scale.

When out-on-bail mob boss Bellavance played by Ray Wise discovers that $500,000 of his money is missing, he sends four hardcore hit men (including Derek Mears) to send a “loud and messy” message to the suspected thieves’ families.

But when the killers invade the Rutledge home, they quickly find out why the money was stolen, to buy the freedom of Owen ( played by Ryan Hartwig ). Owen you see is an Autistic nightmare with an Aggression Scale rating of 99.5 out of 100. Whats that you ask? It means his likely hood of inflicting incredible suffering and pain is pretty much a sure thing. Think Michael Meyers level f*ck you up and leave you in the basement vomiting into your own intestines.

Now that I have shared my favorites for Halloween to leave you scared stupid what are yours? Leave some comments and tell me what films truly scared you and are worth watching on Halloween before you go walking the streets for some Trick or Treat.

Great list of Halloween movies, Herner! You included a few of my favorites like The Thing and The Exorcist. I have a coworker at DISH that loves horror movies almost as much as I do. That’s why we were so excited to see DISH’s 31 Day Movie Fest on HD channel 102. They are showing several classic horror movies every night for the month of October, including some of my favorites like Night of the Living Dead, The Host and Dead Alive!

I loved Trick ‘r Treat! I count it as one of my favourites now. I even somehow managed to miss all the hype surrounding it. I just saw it there looking all interesting, watched it, and fell in love. Instant Halloween staple.

Other staples are Night of the Living Dead (original, then remake), JC’s Halloween, Halloween III depending on my mood, Suspiria, Nightmare on Elm Streets 1 – 3, Prince of Darkness, The Evil Dead, and all the Fridays up to part 7. No particular watching order.

Great list. Thanks for it. I’m gonna watch Aggression Scale, that’s the only one I haven’t watched yet.
The House of the Devil is my Halloween choice, along with House of 1,000,000 Corpses (best halloween dinner party ever) makes a great Halloween double feature.
As for Children of the Corn, I really hate that movie. It totally changed the short story. And that ending, was so lame. The remake is actually a lot better. Bad Acting that’s for sure, but it stays true to the original story.

You forgot Night Breed, Hellraiser 1 and 2, Zombie, and George Romero’s Night of Living Dead series!!

Brandy AldredOctober 5, 2013 at 2:31 am

dude,you know I do horror flicks 365 days a year,but on Halloween I have a select few Halloween themed movies I watch….P.S. I will only watch Hellraiser on a Sunday….speaking of Hellraiser,am I the only one who think Cenobites sound tasty and not scary.

I cannot agree MORE with Trick R Treat. What a surprisingly smart, funny, creepy, edgy horror anthology! It’s in the rotation for my annual Halloween movie marathon. I’ll also +1 The Strangers, House of the Devil and The Evil Dead. Lady in White creeped me the hell out as a kid (Good call, Jasper!). Halloween is a staple (let’s not even recognize the remake for the purposes of this list). The Exorcist is very near and dear to my heart as I co-authored Eileen Dietz’s biography with her: http://www.amazon.com/Exorcising-My-Demons-Exorcist-ebook/dp/B00BT4QMB2. I’ll also go along with NOTLD, Splinter and The Shining, although I prefer to watch The Shining during the winter months

Creepshow and TrickRTreat are great anthologies. But halloween isn’t really complete without some Amicus anthologies. Torture Garden and Vault of horror are good.

My favorite is their final anthology, 1980’s Monster Club which includes Vincent Price and Robert Carradine in the framing elements, a lighthearted nightclub for monsters complete with new wave music numbers and a striptease (to the bone) and several great creepy tales that are downright poignant. I wish this movie recieved more love.

Now I’m going to be that guy and say that while Children of the Corn is great and scary, I believe the first horror movie to feature a group of children as the villains is nearly a quarter century earlier in the 1960 Village of the Damned.

You could do a whole feature on scary movies involving children either as the villains/monsters or as the primary characters/targets.

Trick r Treat? Splinter? What on earth….It’s obvious you have never experienced true horror. Apart from the obvious movies, you have picked some gems. Well, if it were opposite world. I know this is your personal list, but really? FOR SHAME!

How could you not mention Sleepy Hallow??? Or Night of the Demon’s ????? They’re both Halloween themed movies. It’s one of my favorite Halloween movies. One year my friends and I got a fog machine, put it in the living room and watched The Fog, and the Mist with the living room full of fog…that was fun.